"Furlings?" Daniel repeated, looking both surprised and excited.

Berag on the other hand, looked annoyed.

"We are not Furlings. We-"

"How could they be?" Jack asked. "Furlings are furry."

Ian frowned, looking over at Jack – as did everyone else.

"What makes you say that?" Berag asked.

Jack shrugged.

"Well… because… Furlings. Makes you think of something furry, doesn't it?"

They all stared at him, and he scowled.

"Well it makes me think of something furry," he told them defensively.

Fisai snorted, amused – and even Berag had a slight smile.

"The Furlings were not furry," he said.

"What did they look like?" Daniel asked, curiously.

"Much like all other humanoid races."

"Only taller," Ian added.

Berag nodded.

"Yes, they were taller. But not-"

There was a sudden outcry from the entrance of the cave area, and several people came rushing over – although they stayed clear of Teal'c. One of the newcomers was smeared with blood and was pale and trembling.

"Reja needs help!" he shouted without preamble, and he was looking at Fisai, not Berag.

"What? Where?"

"I'll show you."

Since this newcomer was maybe 10 – if that – Daniel wasn't surprised that Berag shook his head.

"Just tell us where and what happened. Quickly!"

"A wraith!" the boy shouted. "It caught us on the way into the cave and we-"

"Where?" Fisai interrupted, grabbing him to stop him.

"At the entrance to the holy rocks."

"Come on!"

Fisai headed for the entrance to the cave, followed by several men who had all grabbed up their long furry jackets and odd looking long sticks that looked a little like the staff weapon Teal'c carried. Jack gestured for Daniel to stay where he was, but he, Teal'c and Ian all ran after them, followed closely by Jaffer and Jack (the dog). The boy watched them go, but made no move to follow.

Berag tried to grab at Ian as they left, but he missed and looked at Daniel, clearly disturbed.

"They'll be in great danger, Daniel."

The archeologist nodded, feeling a stab of concern – especially since he knew just how cold it was out there – and knew there wasn't much he could do to stop them from going.

"They might be able to help."

Berag shook his head.

"A wraith is a vile creature – and almost indestructible."

Daniel nodded, sighing silently to himself.

"I was afraid you were going to say something like that."

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Hurry!"

Fisai was clearly in charge of the group, and desperate, Jack could tell. They were all running headlong along the length of the cave entrance, not worrying about the lack of light or the fact that there were some objects in their path that they were forced to jump over or dodge around.

"Who's Reja?" Jack asked, as they pelted along behind the main group, slowed because they didn't know the cave as well – or because the Woem could see better in the dark, perhaps.

"His sister," Ian answered, even though he didn't think Jack was really expecting a reply.

"What's a wraith?"

Ian dodged around a pile of stacked supplies – obviously brought into the cave to protect it from the storm, but not important or fragile enough to need warmth since the air was getting noticeably cooler.

"I don't know. It's not what I think it is, though."

He didn't have time to sort through Fisai's memories to se what a Wraith was, but he knew it wasn't the Wraith that he knew of from the Ancient's memories.It had to be a creature of some sort.

Jack looked like he was going to ask what Ian meant, but they didn't get that far. They passed the threshold of the cave just then, and found themselves in the middle of a blizzard that had gotten even worse, if it was possible. Just ahead of them, they could see the forms of the other men dodging behind a large stand of rocks.

"Come on," Jack told them. "And stay close."

The last thing they needed was for one of them to get lost in the blizzard.

They followed at a dead run, trying to keep the others in sight, and almost ran right over the backs of Fisai and his men who had come to a sudden stop.

"What's-"

"Quiet!" Fisai hissed – more of a shout, really, in order to be heard over the howling wind. He turned, ignoring them, and Jack's gaze followed his own. His jaw dropped, but the rest of him felt frozen.

"What the hell is that?"

The creature was fearsome, even in the blowing snow. It looked a bit like a whale – and was about the same size of one. Only this whale had short stubby legs to support its immense weight, and a large head that was turned towards them, watching them with tiny eyes that seemed to burn right through Jack, leaving him almost paralyzed with the sensation that he was some sort of mouse being stared at by a very large cat.

Fisai and the others seemed to be a little less awed, but they weren't moving, either.

Jack felt something bump against his thigh, and was startled out of his shock by Jaffer's touch. The lab wasn't looking at all afraid of the beast they were facing. His hackles were up and his lips were pulled back in a silent snarl as he calculated the distance between the creature and himself – watching it to make sure it wouldn't have a chance to make a move at his Jack.

"Easy…"

Jack's concern for his lab overrode what was left of his fear, and his hand rested gently on Jaffer's back.

"What is it?" Teal'c asked, not at all affected by the thing the same way Jack had been – even though he was touching Jack (the dog) the same way Jack was touching Jaffer.

"A wraith," Fisai answered, looking away once more. He frowned, and nudged Ian, who was staring at the wraith in amazement. The touch was all it took to snap Ian out of the semi trance he'd been in, and he lifted the P90 he'd been carrying until it was trained on the creature in front of them.

"Your weapons will not harm it," one of the others said.

"Then how do we kill it?" Jack asked.

"We don't," Fisai said. "We need to distract it. Look."

He pointed, and they all looked the direction he was pointing. Hiding behind a rock, her small face barely visible with all the snow blowing around them was a child. The only problem was that the wraith was between them and her.

She was trapped.